European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

INTERPRETATION OF ARTERIAL BLOOD GAS TESTS OF ICU PATIENTS IN A TERTIARY CARE TEACHING HOSPITAL OF MAHARASHTRA

C. Maria* and Dr. S. A. Pratinidhi

ABSTRACT

Background: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are often investigated for their arterial blood gas levels in order to diagnose the underlying cause and provide prompt and appropriate treatment and thus avoid the future consequences. Methods: Results of arterial blood gas investigations of ICU patients were obtained from the laboratory and analysed to detect the common derangements in blood. Results: The diagnostic yield of the study is 96.05 %. Out of 1063 patients, 355 of them had an acidic blood pH and 256 patients had an alkaline blood pH. 812 of them turned out positive for respiratory balance disorders and 863 of them had metabolic acid-base balance disorders. Conclusion: Arterial blood gas estimation is an efficient tool in diagnosing and treating the patients of an intensive or critical care unit. Proper and timely estimation thus, can reduce the complications and prove effective in controlling the disorders.

Keywords: ICU, Arterial Blood Gas, Metabolic Acidosis, Metabolic Alkalosis, Respiratory Acidosis, Respiratory Alkalosis.